The Lok Sabha worked for 281 hours — 135 percent of the scheduled runtime
The Rajya Sabha was adjourned sine die on August 7. This was a day after the Lok Sabha was adjourned.
This, the Budget Session of Parliament, was first after the 17th Lok Sabha was constituted following the 2019 Lok Sabha election.
The session was earlier scheduled to happen between June 17 and July 26. However, it was extended till August 7.
This was the 249th session of the Rajya Sabha.
About 94 percent of first-term MPs participated in at least one debate during the session -- significantly higher than 82 percent recorded in the 16th Lok Sabha. Around 96 percent of the women MPs in Lok Sabha participated in the proceedings.
Parliament runtime
While the Lower House sat for 37 days, the Rajya Sabha sat for 35 days.
On certain occasions, Parliament extended its working hours to complete the day’s legislative business.
As a result, the Lok Sabha worked for about 281 hours. That is 135 percent of the scheduled hours.
According to a report by PRS Legislative Research, this is higher than any other Parliamentary session in the past 20 years.
The Rajya Sabha worked for over 190 hours. This average in the last 20 years was 76 percent.
Of these work hours, the Lok Sabha spent 46 percent of its time on legislative business. The Rajya Sabha spent just over half of this time in legislative business.
Bills passed
As many as 38 bills were introduced in Parliament during this Session (excluding the Finance and Appropriation bills). Of these, 28 bills were passed – highest for any session in the last 10 years.
While either of the two Houses can refer these bills to a committee for scrutiny, none were. Of the 28 bills that were passed, five had been studied by committees to some extent during the 16th Lok Sabha tenure.
However, some of these bills had been cleared by the previous Lok Sabha and had lapsed. They had to be reintroduced.
Passing of these bills without referring them to committees was criticised by the Opposition.
Trinamool Congress Member of Parliament (MP) Derek O'Brien had said the way bills were being passed amounted to a "mockery of Parliament" and was the government's way of "smothering" the Opposition.
"Parliament is supposed to scrutinize Bills. This chart explains the bulldozing this Session. Are we delivering pizzas or passing legislation?" he tweeted on July 31.
‘Historic session’
In a statement, the Parliamentary Affairs Committee said the session was "historic" in many ways as legislations relating to almost all walks of socio and economic activities have been passed.
Vice President and Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu complemented members of the Rajya Sabha. Naidu said the session was the fifth best in the last 41 years. "This session has recorded best of all performances," Naidu added.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla said it was the most productive session since 1952.
Key bills passed
Triple Talaq Bill: The government was able to pass ‘The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2019’. The Bill, commonly known as the Triple Talaq Bill, proposed to make all declaration of instant triple talaq, including in written or electronic form, to be void and illegal.
J&K bifurcation: The Centre managed to pass ‘The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Bill, 2019’ in Parliament. The Bill proposed reorganisation of the state of Jammu and Kashmir into two Union Territories (UT) – J&K and Ladakh. J&K would have its own Legislative Assembly. Ladakh will not.
Presidential Order on status of Article 370: The Centre tabled a Presidential Order revoking provisions of Article 370.
NMC Bill: Parliament passed ‘The National Medical Commission Bill, 2019’ that provides for formation of the National Medical Commission (NMC) that would replace the Medical Council of India (MCI), to regulate medical education and practice.
Motor Vehicles Bill: The ‘Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill, 2019’ provides for new policies on road transport and safety, compensation for road accident victims and tweaks licensing and registration processes, among others.
RTI (Amendment) Bill: The Centre managed to pass ‘The Right to Information (Amendment) Bill, 2019’ in Parliament amid opposition. The Bill had proposed to tweak the salaries, term and conditions of service of RTI Commissioners at the central and state level. The Opposition took on the government over the proposed changes. United Progressive Alliance (UPA) chairperson Sonia Gandhi said the Centre is hell-bent on subverting the Act which, she said, now stands on the "brink of extinction".
> Code on Wages, 2019
> Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Amendment Bill, 2019
> Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Amendment) Bill, 2019
> National Investigation Agency (Amendment) Bill, 2019
Passage of some of the contentious bills would have been difficult in the Rajya Sabha as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) does not command a majority in the Upper House. However, the bills were passed after some of the non-aligned parties such as the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP), among others, either abstained from voting or supported the government.
The session also included the first Union Budget of the second Narendra Modi government. The Budget was presented on July 5 by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.Subscribe to Moneycontrol Pro and gain access to curated markets data, exclusive trading recommendations, independent equity analysis, actionable investment ideas, nuanced takes on macro, corporate and policy actions, practical insights from market gurus and much more.
